He sighed and rolled to his back, taking her with him, keeping her head against his shoulder. “Yes, I’m sure I do know how you feel.”
“Do you?” She lifted her head, peering down into his eyes. “Do you really, Colt? Do you know how it’s tearing me apart inside to want something so badly but knowing you can never have it?”
He cupped her cheek, wiping the pad of his thumb across the skin and removing her tears. “Yes, I know.”
“What aboutlovingsomeone so much and not having them return those emotions?”
Sadness filled his expression. “Blaze, I do love you.”
“Yes, like a friend, I know.”
“No, my darling. I love you more than just a friend.” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I love you so much, it hurts.”
Perhaps he did understand her feelings after all. “Then... why don’t you want me?”
“Believe me when I say I want you desperately, Blaze.”
Tears blurred her vision again. “Then why don’t you want me enough to marry me?”
A small smile touched his mouth. “I do want you as my wife, but I worry that you don’t want me as your husband.”
She sat up and wiped the tears from her face. Had she heard him correctly? Why did she doubt herself right now? “Why wouldn’t I want you as my husband? I’ve loved you for all of these years.”
He rolled to his side and propped himself up on his bent arm. “Because I don’t stay in one place for very long. That’s not the kind of life a wife wants, especially when she starts having children.” He shrugged. “My father moved Mother and me around so many times, which eventually caused her to get sick and die. I saw the stress it put on my mother, and I don’t want to do that to the woman I love.”
Once again, her hopes were crushed. Carrie’s plan hadn’t worked after all. “Then I have no other choice. I must get married to a man who wants me as his wife and who wants to settle down in one place.” She stood, gathering her stubbornness. “I cannot wait for you any longer, Colt. I hope you won’t become too lonely in your miserable life.”
She turned and ran away from the stream, not caring that she was barefoot and in her nightdress. Behind her, Colt called out her name, but she continued to run. She heard his heavy breaths coming closer, and she prayed she could outrun him, but when his arms wrapped around her, stopping her, she knew there was no way out this time.
“Blaze,” he said out of breath. “I love you. I don’t want to lose you... even if it means marrying you.”
She hitched a breath and looked at him over her shoulder. “What did you say?”
He smiled. “I want to marry you.”
“But what about your freedom of going from place to place without a care in the world?”
Colt turned her in his arms and kissed her. She hesitated in participating only because she didn’t think a kiss was the answer to her question. But he pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers.
“I’d rather kiss you all the time and be with you every moment of the day because you make me happy.” He kissed her again, slightly longer this time, but he pulled away and met her gaze. “I’ve been traveling so much in my life. Maybe all I need is someone special like you to make me want to settle down.”
She inhaled a ragged breath. “But what if you become bored with me?”
He chuckled. “That will never happen. We know how to have fun together. You make me laugh, just like I know how to make you laugh.”
Gradually, her body relaxed. She wanted to believe everything would work out. “Are you willing to marry me tomorrow?”
“What about Kent? I think we should tell him that he won’t be the groom tomorrow.”
She nodded. “I’ll talk to him in the morning. The ceremony isn’t until four o’clock in the afternoon.”
He pulled her closer. “I would marry you tonight if it meant having you forever.”
This time, the tears that filled her eyes were because of the happiness growing inside her. “I love you, Colt. I promise you won’t regret your decision.”
“No, I’ll never regret loving you.”
When he kissed her, she decided to participate. After all, she finally had something to celebrate.
